Thriveabetes 2026 Speakers

The Thriveabetes Team is thrilled to share our speaker line up and programme for our 2026 event.

Pete Davies

Diagnosed age 2, 69 years ago

From London

Pete was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 2. His first consultant was Dr. R.D. Lawrence, a world leader in the field, who himself, nearly died from Type 1 diabetes and was amongst the first in the UK to receive insulin (May 1923).

Thanks to Dr. Lawrence's informed advice and his parents' positivity, Pete's diagnosis did not prevent the family from returning to East Africa. He was educated in Nairobi until nearly 8 years old when his family returned to the UK. Pete became a teacher of Design & Technology, a subject and career he loved.

His interests include music, motorsport, hiking, photography, gardening, and DIY. He has completed several long-distance hikes of around 100 miles and summitted Kilimanjaro in 2014.

Pete's positive upbringing established his firm belief that Type 1 diabetes should never prevent anyone from achieving their dreams. Pete has proven this to be true on many occasions now. He also demonstrates a refreshing positivity towards living with this chronic condition, a quality that many comment upon.

Connect with Pete on X, formerly Twitter as @PeteDaviesType1

Diabetic Duo: Ellen Watson & Beth McDaniel

Ellen diagnosed age 7, 19 years ago / Beth diagnosed age 20, 7 years ago

From: Northern Ireland

Best friends, Beth and Ellen, work full time in the marketing industry. Shortly after Beth was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2019, they become internet sensations as the Diabetic Duo on TikTok. They’ve amassed almost 30K followers and 40 million views with their lighthearted and relatable content. They mesh their passion for fashion, makeup, beauty and nightlife with the daily considerations of young adults living with diabetes.

Connect with Beth and Ellen @the_diabetic_duo on Instagram and @diabeticduo on TikTok.

Dr Cathy Breen

20 years working in Diabetes Care - Interim Dietetic Lead on National Clinical Programme for Diabetes & DAFNE Educator

From: Dublin

Cathy is a CORU-registered Clinical Specialist Dietitian in Diabetes and Obesity at St Columcille’s Hospital, Loughlinstown, with 20 years’ experience.

She holds a PhD in Nutrition and has co-authored national and international clinical guidelines, including the DUK Nutrition Guidelines and the Irish National Clinical Guideline for Type 1 Diabetes.

She works with the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes as Acting Dietetic Lead and has been a DAFNE educator for 15 years, with a strong focus on cruising the peaks and troughs of CGM downloads looking for those elusive patterns!

Connect with Cathy on X @CathyBreen24 and on LinkedIn.

Cameron Keighron

Diagnosed age 15, 15 years ago

Project Coordinator with the International Diabetes Federation Europe

From: Galway / Sligo

Cameron is passionate about improving life for people with all types of diabetes through research, advocacy, and community engagement. Cameron has been involved in initiatives aimed at improving healthcare for young people in Ireland & Europe for over 10 years. Currently, they are a Project Coordinator with the International Diabetes Federation Europe, working on clinical and research initiatives, including efforts to improve access to sport and physical activity.

Connect with Cameron on Twitter @CameronKeighron

Jean Langford

Diagnosed age 11, 19 years ago.

NHS Diabetes Peer Support Worker

From: Limerick & Edinburgh, Scotland

Jean is a passionate advocate for community and peer support, having lived with t1d for 20 years. She has worked locally and internationally to champion better, more equitable diabetes care, alongside delivering local and international diabetes events and programmes for the last five years.

Currently an NHS Diabetes Peer Support Worker, supporting people with diabetes onboard onto Hybrid Closed Loop. Grounded in lived experience and professional practice, Jean is committed to connecting people with diabetes to the tools, knowledge, and support they need to improve their quality of life.

Connect with Jean: Instagram: the_dia_being_mindset

Paula Short

Son diagnosed age 7, 13 years ago

Psychotherapist and group facilitator

From Galway

Paula is a Psychotherapist and group facilitator with over twenty years of experience, holding a Master of Arts in Humanistic and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Bachelor of Science honours degree in the same field. Her expertise took on new personal significance when her son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 7, thrusting her family into a challenging journey of adjustment and emotional upheaval. Paula is deeply aware of the enormous adjustments needed for the whole family when a child is diagnosed with type 1. The mental, emotional, and physical demands can be exhausting for everyone.

Connect with Paula on Instagram @paulamarieshort, Facebook: Paula Short Personal Development Courses., LinkedIn at Paula Short, Website: www.paulashort.net, or Email: paulashort@me.com

Tim Street

Diagnosed age 13, 37 years ago.

From London

Tim has lived with Type 1 Diabetes for 37 years. In 2014 he was an early adopter of the Freestyle Libre and hasn't looked back on Diabetes Tech since then. He joined the WeAreNotWaiting community in 2015 and also started to write his website, Diabettech.com that year, going out of his way to get a Medtronic pump on the NHS so that he could use OpenAPS, which he did in 2016.

He has used and developed Open Source AID algorithms since then and has written hundreds of articles on Diabettech covering Diabetes Technology and n=1 comparisons of CGMs, pumps, etc.

Connect with Tim on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) @Diabettech and his Website: Diabettech.com/.

The above is not the complete list of speakers, there are more speakers to follow.